Top 10: Canadian Driving Roads

Canada is a monstrous land mass filled with creatures and catastrophic beauty. And from sea to shining sea, Canadian roads are collectively at the summit of driving sophistication. Grizzly bears wrestle and growl behind pines, gondola rides and suspension bridges lift our perspective, ande oceans and hairpin turns on icy pavement demand our attention. But in a land where some beauty is hidden, the question naturally surfaces: Where are the best driving roads in Canada?

In the juridical process, wondrousness is rendered somewhat moot based on its great excess. What seems more essential is to find a space that yields adventure. Driving, after all, fuels a serene yet alert mindset; and there’s nothing like driving into a mysterious yellow-brick roadscape. So, whether you’re holdin’ ‘er straight on dry prairie flats or coaxing your all-wheeler up icy and rocky climbs, the task is there in the getting. But you'd better have time and a sense of adventure on your side.

Number 10

The Badlands

Crank some Hank Williams as you ride toward your first encounter with the infamous boob-like hoodoos in “Mad Max Land.” After gliding through eternal prairies, an unsettling dip drops you down into the sunken city. Eroded badlands suddenly emerge and damage the desert terrain with coulees, hoodoos and mud buttes. The effect of wandering through eons of compressed sea deposits is humbling. Glacial persistence, water and erosion carved the badlands and created a legend that began during the reign of the dinosaurs, which are now fossilized in the topography.

Rest stop: While the Badlands cover the bulk of southeastern Alberta, leaving several driving options, the road from Calgary to Drumheller is a two-hour trip that drops you in the fossil-mecca of Drumheller Valley. Here you'll find dinosaur bits exposed like the oil in Alberta’s tar sands.

Number 9

St. Lawrence Circuit

If you like fishing trips, this route is mapped for you. Looping around Le Fleuve St. Laurent, this is a four- to five-day drive that begins and ends at its southernmost point in Quebec City. The trip as a whole provides a hotbed of picturesque little towns and some of the best mountains in Eastern Canada. If you happen to travel this route during the winter, Le Massif and Mont-Sainte-Anne are both along the north shore and provide pristine skiing conditions.

Rest stop: After crossing the St. Lawrence on the Riviere-du-Loup ferry, the glorious Charlevoix region awaits you on the north shore. On Highway 138, don’t miss the Grand Canyon des Chutes Sainte-Anne, where a short walk leads you to suspension bridges that cross a rocky gorge capped by the Sainte-Anne Falls.

Number 8

The Muskokas - Highway 60

In the autumn, Ontario is the place for fall driving. Throughout Algonquin Park, which is where Highway 60 twists and turns through the dense foliage, maple leaves come tumbling down and the moonlit lakes shimmer with refracted light as dawn turns to dusk. But, if you want to man up this Canadian driving road, Algonquin Park is a spectacular camping destination due to its dense landscape of maple hills, rocky ridges, spruce bogs, and some form of waterway at seemingly every turn.

Rest stop: Either on your way in or out, be sure to take a small hike to find Oxtongue River’s Ragged Falls, which is just outside Algonquin Park and along Highway 60. While there are many waterfalls in this region, Ragged Falls is a wild, crashing 24-meter waterfall that cascades against Oxtongue River’s jagged rock formations.